Colin Kaepernick to Donald Trump: ‘Let’s make America great for the first time’

Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before a game against the Seahawks. (Ted S. Warren/AP)

Asked for his opinion on Monday’s presidential debate, Colin Kaepernick offered several thoughts, none of which were complimentary toward either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. But the 49ers quarterback had more to say about the Republican nominee, including, “Let’s make America great for the first time.”

Trump, of course, is using “Make America great again” as his campaign slogan. Last month, he told a Seattle radio station that Kaepernick’s protests during pre-game renditions of the national anthem were a “terrible thing.”

“Maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” Trump added at the time. “Let him try. It won’t happen.”

On Tuesday, Kaepernick said of those comments (via CSN Bay Area), “That’s a very ignorant statement, that if you don’t agree with what’s going on here, and that if you want justice and liberty and freedom for all, that you should leave the country.

“He always says ‘Make America Great Again.’ Well, America’s never been great for people of color. And that’s something that needs to be addressed. Let’s make America great for the first time.”

Clinton was not spared the scorn of Kaepernick, who said he watched “a little bit” of the debate. “To me, it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates,” he told reporters at San Francisco’s practice facility.

“Both are proven liars and it almost seems like they’re trying to debate who’s less racist,” Kaepernick said. “And at this point, talking with one of my friends, it was you, you have to pick the lesser of two evils, but in the end, it’s still evil.”

#49ers Colin Kaepernick called presidential debate embarrassing between "proven liars. …They were trying to debate who was less racist" pic.twitter.com/2eYSxW6OW0

“You might not care if Donald Trump says Muslims must register with the government, because you’re not one. And you might not care if Donald Trump says he’s going to round up all the Hispanic immigrants, because you’re not one. And you might not care if Donald Trump says it’s OK to rough up black protesters, because you’re not one. And you might not care that Donald Trump wants to suppress journalists, because you’re not one.

“But think about this. If he keeps going and he actually becomes president, he might just get around to you, and you better hope that there’s someone left to help you.”

In August, after his decision to sit or kneel during the anthem first gained national attention, Kaepernick said, “You have Hillary, who’s called black teens or black kids super-predators. You have Donald Trump who’s openly racist. I mean, we have a presidential candidate who’s deleted emails and done things illegally and is a presidential candidate. That doesn’t make sense to me, because if that was any other person, you’d be in prison. So what is this country really standing for?”

Des BielerDes Bieler writes for the Early Lead and the D.C. Sports Bog, scouring the Web to bring readers items of interest, both serious and amusing. He also covers fantasy football. He came to The Post in 1995. Follow